Vacuum Cleaner

ABSTRACT

A vacuum cleaner including a housing with a dust container therein and a suction opening with a detachable connection of a suction hose to the opening. The housing having an outer wall aligned with the suction opening and the suction opening in an inner wall. The connector body of the suction hose having tubular end piece with a connecting cone insertable into the suction opening through both walls of the housing and into the dust container.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional, under 35 U.S.C. §121, of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/740,090, filed Dec. 18, 2003, which is a continuation, under 35 U.S.C. §120, of International Application No. PCT/EP02/06516, filed Jun. 13, 2002, which designated the United States; this application also claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119, of German patent application No. 10131175.3, filed Jun. 29, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a connector for a vacuum cleaner for detachable connection of a suction hose to a suction opening provided in a vacuum cleaner housing, wherein the connector with a tubular end piece can be inserted in the suction opening.

Such a vacuum cleaner is known from DE 42 40 913 A1. In the known vacuum cleaner there is provided a vacuum cleaner hose which is detachably coupled to a connector via a coupling element. The connector has a tubular end piece which can be inserted in a suction opening in a vacuum cleaner housing. The connector has a circular cross-section and is thus rotatably mounted in the vacuum cleaner housing.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the invention to improve a connector of the type described initially.

This object is solved according to the invention by the fact that the connector can be guided through a first outer and a second inner wall of the vacuum cleaner housing.

The connector according to the invention provides a particularly stable and secure connection between the vacuum cleaner hose and the vacuum cleaner housing.

In an advantageous development of the invention, the connector with a connecting cone dips in a sealing fashion into a dust container. By means of this measure, the connector is on the one hand fixedly connected to the dust container, thus for example in the case of a dust bag, to its filter cardboard, but despite this the dust bag can be changed even when the connector is inserted since the connector does not dip into or does not dip deeply into the dust bag.

A further advantage of the invention is that the connector can be fixed in a region between the first and the second wall. As a result of this arrangement, a high stability is achieved.

In an advantageous further development, the connector has a sealing lip which sits on the outside of the second wall and by which means it can be fixed on the second wall.

The connector preferably has at least one catch lug by which means the connector can be fixed on the inside of the first wall. The stability of the connector is also increased by this measure.

In an advantageous development of the invention there is provided a gripping element accessible from the outside of the wall by which means the at least one catch lug can be pressed backwards and the connector can be withdrawn from the vacuum cleaner housing.

The gripping element is advantageously formed by a catch hook on which the catch lug is respectively arranged.

The arrangement of a gripping recess on the catch hook is especially advantageous. The connector can thereby be conveniently and rapidly separated from the vacuum cleaner housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in further detail below in an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a connector inserted in a vacuum cleaner housing,

FIG. 2 shows the connector in a longitudinal section turned through 90.degree. about the longitudinal axis of the connector with respect to the longitudinal section shown in FIG. 1 and

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the connector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

A vacuum cleaner has a vacuum cleaner housing 1 that for example, forms the lower part of the complete housing of the vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner housing comprises a wall 2 to which a wall 3 is connected at an angle. The wall 3 serves for example as the front apron of the vacuum cleaner below which the user can grip to lift up the vacuum cleaner. Inside the vacuum cleaner housing 1 a filter bag 4 is affixed directly behind the wall 2 as a dust space. A filter cardboard 5 extends in the vicinity of the wall 2.

An end piece 7 of a connector 8 projects into an opening 6 of the filter cardboard 5. At its free end the end piece 7 has a sealing cone 9 which is exactly the same size as the opening 6 and ends approximately flush with the side facing the inside of the filter bag 4 so that it does not project into the filter bag 4.

The end piece 7 also has a circumferential sealing lip 10 which ensures that the dust space with the filter bag 4 is sealed towards the outside.

The connector 8 has a connecting piece 11 with which it is connected to a suction hose. The connecting piece 11 becomes the end piece 7 and penetrates through the outer wall 3. It thus imparts stability to the housing apron formed by the wall 3.

The connector 8 is held on the side of the wall 3 facing the wall 2 by means of catch lugs 12 (FIG. 2) which are attached to the outside of catch hooks 13. The catch hooks 13 serve as gripping elements so that the connector 8 can be withdrawn from the opening 6.

The catch hooks 13 interact with the sealing lip 10 such that the connector 8 is fixed slip-free between the walls 2 and 3. In order that the catch hooks 13 can be simply pressed together during removal of the connector 8 from the vacuum cleaner housing, gripping recesses 14 are arranged on the catch hooks 13. When the catch hooks 13 are pressed together by pressing on the gripping recesses 14, the catch hooks 12 are moved to a distance apart from one another which is less than the diameter of the opening for the connector 8 in the wall 3. The connector 8 can then be pulled out from the walls 2 and 3, exposing the opening 6.

At the free end of the connector 8 said connector is detachably or non-detachably connected in an inherently known fashion to an end piece of a suction hose. A detachable connection between the connector 8 is known for example from DE 42 40 913 A1.

The invention provides a connector 8 for a vacuum cleaner housing which is held between walls 2 and 3 of the vacuum cleaner housing. The wall 3 forms a front apron of the vacuum cleaner and can be gripped from its underside by a user such that it is suitable for carrying said vacuum cleaner.

The connector 8 is fixed between the walls 2 and 3 by means of a sealing lip 10 and the catch lugs 12. In this case, the connector 8 with a sealing cone 9 dips into a filter cardboard 5 such that the filter bag 4 can be removed even when the connector 8 is inserted. 

1. A vacuum cleaner having a housing wall having a suction opening, wherein the vacuum cleaner comprises: a wall having an opening wherein the wall is capable of being connected to the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner to support the opening of the wall external to, and at a spacing from, the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner; and a connector detachably connected to the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner and having a connecting piece and an end piece, the connector delimiting a bore having one open end and an opposite open end, the connecting piece of the connector being located adjacent the one open end of the connector and the end piece of the connector being located adjacent the opposite open end of the connector, the connector being disposable into an installed condition, in which the connector extends between, and is supported by the wall and the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner with the connecting piece of the connector engaging the wall and the end piece of the connector extends through the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner into an interior housing volume delimited by the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner, the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner, the bore of the connector, and the opening being communicated with one another, the end piece of the connector including a sealing lip that extends circumferentially around the connector, the sealing lip of the end piece engaging an outside surface of the housing wall of a vacuum cleaner and restricts movement of the end piece of the connector further into a suction opening of the vacuum cleaner, and the connecting piece of the connector extending through the opening in the wall in the installed condition of the connector and engaging the wall to resist displacement of the connecting piece from the wall.
 2. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the connector has a plurality of engagement locations at which the connector can engage the wall, the plurality of engagement locations on the connector each being at a different axial location than the other engagement locations, whereupon the connector configured to be installed in the installed condition with the sealing lip of the end piece of the connector configured to resist further extension movement of the connector in one direction beyond the suction opening of a vacuum cleaner and a respective engagement location of the connector configured to resist further extension movement of the connector beyond the opening in an opposite direction opposite the one direction of further extension movement of the end piece of the connector beyond the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner.
 3. The vacuum cleaner of claim 2, wherein the connector is configured to be extended, in the installed condition of the connector, through the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner that lies in a suction opening plane and is operable to extend through the opening of the wall that lies in a plane that is not parallel to the suction opening plane and the sealing lip of the end piece of the connector delimits a transverse plane that is parallel to the suction opening plane.
 4. The vacuum cleaner of claim 3, wherein the wall is supportable by the housing of the vacuum cleaner in a predetermined orientation relative to the housing of the vacuum cleaner such that, in this predetermined orientation, a predetermined angle is formed between a plane in which the opening of the wall lies and the suction opening plane, the wall is configured to terminate in an end portion that is movable relative to the housing of the vacuum cleaner, and the end portion of the wall has a resilient bias such that the wall yieldably opposes a force exerted by the connector on the wall that is generated by the resistance of the sealing lip of the end piece of the connector to further extension movement of the connector in the one direction through the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner.
 5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the connector includes a catch lug that is configured to engage the opening of the wall.
 6. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the connector has a tubular construction, an inner diameter of the connecting piece being greater than an inner diameter of the end piece, and a shoulder being formed at a juncture where one end of the connecting piece is joined with one end of the end piece.
 7. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the connector includes a catch hook having a cantilevered member spaced apart and extending along the connector and a catch lug disposed on a side of the catch hook facing away from the connector and engaging the wall to retain the connector in the installed condition.
 8. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the catch hook is deflectable inwardly toward the connector to disengage the catch lug from a wall and permit removal of the connector from the wall.
 9. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the connector includes two catch hooks projecting from opposite sides of the connector.
 10. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the connector forms a single integral piece.
 11. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein a removable dust collector is disposed within the housing of the vacuum, the connector having a tapered sealing cone configured to engage the dust collector.
 12. The vacuum cleaner of claim 4, wherein the connector includes a catch lug that engages the opening in the wall.
 13. The vacuum cleaner of claim 4, wherein the connector has a tubular construction, an inner diameter of the connecting piece being greater than an inner diameter of the end piece, and a shoulder a juncture where one end of the connecting piece is joined with one end of the end piece.
 14. The vacuum cleaner of claim 4, wherein the connector includes a catch hook having a cantilevered member spaced apart and extending along the connector and a catch lug disposed on a side of the catch hook facing away from the connector and engaging the wall to retain the connector in the installed condition. 